Apparatus and method for multi-target physical-vapor deposition of a multi-layer material structure

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method for depositing plural layers of materials on a substrate within a single vacuum chamber allows high-throughput deposition of structures such as these for GMR and MRAM application. An indexing mechanism aligns a substrate with each of plural targets according to the sequence of the layers in the structure. Each target deposits material using a static physical-vapor deposition technique. A shutter can be interposed between a target and a substrate to block the deposition process for improved deposition control. The shutter can also preclean a target or the substrate and can also be used for mechanical chopping of the deposition process. In alternative embodiments, plural substrates may be aligned sequentially with plural targets to allow simultaneous deposition of plural structures within the single vacuum chamber. A monitoring and control device can be wed to optimize equipment state, process state, and wafer state parameters by sensing each respective state during or after the deposition process.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to the field of fabrication ofsemiconductor integrated circuits and data storage devices, and moreparticularly to an improved multi-target physical-vapor depositionapparatus and method of use for controlled deposition of a multi-layermaterial structure onto a substrate in an ultra clean vacuum processingenvironment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Several important applications, including spin-valve giantmagneto-resistive (GMR) thin-film heads and semiconductor integratedcircuits, use multi-layer material stacks to perform various electronicsignal processing and data storage functions. For instance,semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) applications often includemulti-layer interconnect structures comprised of multiple layers ofglue/diffusion barrier, interconnect metal, and anti-reflection coating(ARC) films. For instance, some multi-level interconnect structures insemiconductor ICs employ a multi-layer conductive material stackcomprising titanium, titanium nitride, aluminum (doped with copper), anda top titanium nitride ARC layer in each interconnect level. Anotherapplication that uses multi-layer material structures is magnetic datastorage thin-film head devices. For instance, giant magneto-resistive(GMR) thin-film head and magnetic random access memory (MRAM) spin-valvetunnel junction devices use multi-layer material structures comprisingstacks of conductive, magnetic, and/or insulating material layers asthin as 10 to 30 Å.

Conventional magnetic data storage devices use thin film heads comprisedof inductive and/or magneto-resistive (MR) materials. MR heads enablehigher magnetic storage densities compared to the storage densities ofdevices having inductive heads due to the higher read sensitivity andsignal-to-noise ratio of MR senors. The MR heads read the storedinformation with direct magnetic flux sensing and are, thus, capable ofstatic read-back without dependency on the relative motion (e.g., diskrotation speed) of the magnetic media compared to the head. The MR headsoperate based on a resistance change of an MR element (permalloy) inresponse to the magnetic flux on the media. Both the inductive and MRthin-film heads employ inductive writer elements.

Industry transition from inductive heads to MR heads for magnetic datastorage systems has allowed rapid technology evolution in terms ofmaximum storage density (described in Gbits/in² and system storagecapacities. Industry has increased storage density of magnetic isstorage systems at a historical rate of 30% per year and a currentannual rate of 60%. Leading edge state-of-the-art rigid disk storagemedia now have storage densities on the order of 2 to 5 Gbits/in²(gigabits per square inch), with industry projecting storage densitiesapproaching 10 Gbits/in² by the turn of the century. As the recordingdensities transition from 2 Gbits/in² towards 5 Gbits/in², industry willhave to replace the MR head technology with more sensitive devices, suchas spin-valve GMR heads. Eventually, to maintain present trends towardimproved storage capacities, industry may transition form GMR materialsto colossal magneto-resistive (CMR) materials, which could supportstorage densities approaching 100 Gbits/in².

In 1987, the giant magneto-resistive or GMR effect was discovered. GMRmaterials, usually consisting of at least two ferromagneticnanostructure entities separated by a nonmagnetic spacer, display achange of resistance upon the application of a magnetic field. GMRmaterials have a larger relative resistance change and have increasedfield sensitivity as compared against traditional anisotropicmagneto-resistive or MR materials, such as Ni₈₀Fe₂₀ films. The improvedrelative resistance change and field sensitivity of GMR materials andrelated magnetic sensing elements allow the production of sensors havinggreater sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio than conventional sensors.Thus, for instance, data storage systems using GMR read sensors canstore greater amounts of data in smaller disk areas as compared toconventional data storage devices. However, material stacks forfabricating GMR sensors generally use 6 to 8 layers of 4 to 6 differentmaterials, as compared to the MR material stacks, which usually haveonly 3 layers of materials such as in permalloy layers with SoftAdjacent Layers (SAL). Thus, creating material stacks for GMR readsensors generally required more processing steps, including morecomplicated equipment and fabrication techniques for high-yieldmanufacturing of high-performance GMR thin-film heads.

In order to meet its goals for improved storage density, industry willlikely turn to spin-valve GMR thin-film heads. Spin-valve GMR heads arecomprised of multi-layer depositions of 10 to 100 angstrom thickmaterial films having precise thickness and microstructure control aswell as extremely cohesive interface control at each interface of amulti-layer spin-valve GMR stack. Each spin-valve GMR stack must havegood crystalinity in conjunction with abrupt and smooth materialinterfaces with minimal interface mixing to ensure proper GMR responseand to establish excellent thermal stability. For instance, FIG. 1depicts one possible spin-valve GMR configuration. The precisionrequired for spin-valve stack deposition can be understood by comparingthe 1.5 nanometer thick layer of cobalt in FIG. 1 against a typicalatomic radius of 0.2 nanometers (corresponding to approximately 7 atomiclayers). Essentially, GMR stacks may require controlled deposition ofmetallic multilayers which comprise ultrathin films as thin as 5 to 10atomic nanolayers.

Another application for GMR materials is magnetic random access memories(“MRAM”), which are monolithic silicon-based nonvolatile memory devicespresently based on a hysteretic effect in magneto-resistive or MRmaterials. MRAM devices are typically used in aerospace and militaryapplications due to their excellent nonvolatile memory bit retention andradiation hardness behavior. Moreover, the MRAM devices can be easilyintegrated with silicon integrated circuits for embedded memoryapplications. The implementation of GMR materials, such asspin-dependent tunnel junctions, could improve the electricalperformance of MRAM devices to make MRAM devices competitive withsemiconductor DRAM and flash EPROM memory devices. However, theperformance of MRAM memory depends on precise control of layer thicknessvalues and the microstructures of various thin films in a GMR stack ofthin metallic films. Thickness fluctuations and other interface ormicrostructural variations in thin metallic layers can cause variationin MRAM device performance. Similar difficulties can occur with periodiclaminated multi-layer structures, such as laminated flux guidestructures of iron, tantalum and silicon di-oxide.

The precision-controlled deposition of materials onto a substrate tocreate the multi-layer structures that can use the GMR effect is adifficult and time consuming process which requires high-performancevacuum deposition equipment, including plasma sputtering, ion-beam andevaporation processes. Although conventional physical-vapor deposition(PVD) technology can create GMR-capable structures, each layer of astructure must be carefully deposited in sequence in a time-consumingsequential series of depositions, a complicated process having arelatively slow throughput. Typically, such conventional PVD technologydynamically rotates a substrate at rapid speeds relative to a target inan attempt to evenly distribute the material being deposited onto thesubstrate. However, dynamic deposition requires a relatively largeprocess chamber relative to the size of the target and the size of thesubstrate in order to allow rotation of the substrate. The PVD systemswith dynamic rotation also complicate integration of advanced chucksand/or magnetic orientation devices for substrate processingapplications. Further, dynamic deposition is inefficient because thetarget deposits material onto the substrate only when the rotation ofthe substrate aligns it partially or fully with the target. Materialdeposited from the target during non-alignment periods is wasted. Also,precise control of layer thickness and interface characteristics cannotbe ensured with dynamic deposition, particularly when targets arechanged after each dynamic deposition process or substrates are moved isto modules with new targets, thus, allowing impurities to be introducedbetween deposition layers. Such impurities frequently cause materialstructures to fail.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, a need has arisen for an apparatus and method which canprecisely and controllably deposit multi-layer stacks of materialscomprising conductive, magnetic, and insulating layers with precisionthickness control, excellent uniformity, and coherent ultracleaninterfaces.

A further need exists for an apparatus and method for depositingmultilayer stacks of metallic, magnetic, and/or insulating materials inan efficient manner with an economic fabrication throughput for volumeproduction applications.

A further need exists for an apparatus and method for depositingmultilayer stacks of metallic, magnetic, and/or insulating materialswithout introducing impurities or contaminants to the layers and at thematerial stack interfaces by minimizing the presence of contaminantsduring a deposition process, and by minimizing the duration of substrateexposure to contamination sources during processing.

A further need exists for an apparatus and method that allows real-timemonitoring during a multi-step deposition process to directly controlmultilayer stack film thickness values as well as microstructural andinterface/surface properties during the deposition process.

In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus and method fordepositing multiple layers of thin conductive, insulating, and/ormagnetic films is provided that substantially eliminates or reducesdisadvantages and problems associated with previously developeddeposition systems and processes (such as the prior art plasmasputtering and ion beam deposition systems). Plural targets sequentiallydeposit material onto a substrate. The targets and substrate aredisposed within the same vacuum chamber with ultraclean vacuum basepressure. Each target can comprise a material associated with one layeror several layers of a desired multi-layer structure. The targets cansequentially deposit materials according to a predetermined sequencecorresponding to the multi-layer structure, such as a sequence that willcreate a multi-layer structure for spin-valve GMR thin-film heads ortunneling-junction MRAM devices. A substrate support can align thesubstrate with the targets in a predetermined sequence. Upon alignmentwith a target, a power source or process energy source associated withthe targets initiates physical-vapor deposition of the material onto thesubstrate for a duration determined and controlled by a process timer orby a real-time in-situ sensor.

More specifically, in one embodiment, the substrate support issequentially aligned with each of plural targets by an indexingmechanism operating on a substrate chuck assembly. For instance, thetargets can be arranged in a circular configuration within a targetplane (e.g., vacuum chamber lid) in the vacuum chamber, and an indexingchuck disposed in the vacuum chamber can rotate the substrate-chuck orsupport mechanism to each target (for instance, to align the centralaxes of the target and the substrate), the rotation occurring in asubstrate plane that is preferably substantially parallel to the targetplane. After the substrate aligns with each target, a power source orprocess energy source (such as DC magnetron, RF magnetron, or RF diode,or a pulsed magnetron energy source) associated with the targets and thesubstrate can deposit material from each target to the substrate byusing preferably static physical-vapor deposition. Via an indexingoperation, the indexing chuck can move the substrate to various targetpositions after a deposition time expires for each respective target,the process or deposition time corresponding to the precise thickness ofthe layer being deposited and other deposition process parameters. Thesequential indexing mechanism cooperates with the targets to align thesubstrate under each target according to the predetermined order ofmaterials in the multi-layer structure or stack. The indexing mechanismcan include a sensing device to ensure proper alignment of the substratebelow each respective target (for instance, using a home position sensoron the chuck indexing drive mechanism).

In another embodiment of the present invention, plural targets arearranged along the top lid of a physical-vapor deposition (PVD) vacuumchamber to sputter down onto the substrate. A substrate wafer is placedon the substrate support (for instance, a processing chuck) of anindexing chuck to face up at the targets. A substrate can be insertedinto the vacuum process chamber through an access valve between thevacuum process chamber and a vacuum handling chamber. The access valvecan be closed and the vacuum chamber evacuated with a vacuum pump suchas a cryo pump and a water pump to achieve a very low base pressure andto reduce the contaminants present during the physical-vapor depositionsputtering process. The chuck can then align the wafer underneath afirst PVD target comprised of a first material. A stepper motorassociated with the chuck drive or indexing mechanism can provideprecise alignment of the wafer and the target. A DC or RF power source(or alternatively, a pulsed DC or pulsed RF source) can apply eithercontinuous wave or pulsed electrical energy within the vacuum orlow-pressure gas medium between the target and the substrate to performphysical-vapor deposition on the substrate using DC magnetron or RFmagnetron or RF diode physical-vapor deposition techniques. Uponcompletion of deposition of the first material by the first target, thechuck indexing drive mechanism can move the indexing chuck to align witha second desired target comprised of a second material according to thepredetermined sequence corresponding to the multi-layer structure. Thechuck can move the substrate between the first and second or othertargets until the desired multi-layer structure has been depositedwherein all layers are deposited in the predetermined sequence, within asingle vacuum processing chamber. It is also possible to place anothertype of processing energy source (e.g., a high-densityinductively-coupled plasma or ICP source for soft plasma cleaningapplications) in place of any of the process positions (or targetpositions) within the multi-station indexing-chuck process.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a shutter mechanisminterposed between a target and the substrate can enhance the processingflexibility and the precision of the physical-vapor deposition processby enabling in-situ precleaning of a target or a substrate. The shuttermechanism comprises an electrically or pneumatically operated shutter,which can be a stainless steel or a titanium metal plate, that is lightweight and thin enough to be interposed between the target and thechuck. Power applied to the target can initiate and stabilize asputtering process (for instance, for initial target cleaning andburn-in), after which the shutter plate can be removed from between thetarget and the chuck to allow precise control of the sputtering processand deposited film thickness, including the length of time depositionoccurs. After a predetermined time corresponding to a desired depositionthickness has elapsed (or when a real-time in-situ thickness sensordetermines the process end-point time), the shutter plate can again bereinserted between the target and the substrate to terminate thesputtering process. In one embodiment, the shutter plate cooperates witha rotating shield to reduce contamination during the sputtering process.

In another embodiment, electrical chopping can replace the shutter forcontrolling deposition time intervals. A plasma filament can igniteplasma when the target is aligned with the substrate. The instantaneousignition of the plasma over the substrate is accomplished through alocalized discharge which can provide an evenly distributed sputteredmaterial layer onto the substrate. Power can be distributed to thetarget in pulses of varying length and intensity to provide time foratoms to diffuse over the deposition surface (pulsed deposition).

In another embodiment, the deposition process can be monitored andcontrolled on a real-time or post-deposition basis by using associatedreal-time in-situ and in-line in-vacuo sensors and closed loopcontrollers. Vacuum-integrated sensors and related controllers cancooperate with the indexing mechanism to provide greatly improveddeposition control for a wide range of material thickness values.Sensors can be located within or associated with the vacuum chamber forreal-time in-situ measurements, or in a dedicated vacuum metrologymodule attached to the vacuum chamber for pre-process and post-processin-line measurements. Sensors can monitor substrate, process orequipment state parameters to provide optimal material layer thickness,uniformity, microstructure and/or interface control. For instance,sensors can measure the wafer-state parameters such as the thickness ofindividual films (e.g., ellipsometry), the sheet resistance ofindividuals films and stacks, and the composition and thickness ofindividual films and stacks (e.g., x-ray fluorescence), as well asequipment and process considerations such as plasma source current andvoltage, optical emissions for estimating instantaneous depositionrates, vacuum pressure measurements, wafer temperature measurements, aswell as magnetic flux uniformity and skew on the chuck surface. Thesemeasurements can support closed loop monitoring and control of theequipment and process states to achieve predetermined process stateand/or substrate state parameters.

The present invention provides important technical advantages byallowing precise production of multi-layer material structures such asspin-valve GMR and MRAM material systems. One important technicaladvantage is the use of the indexing chuck to allow independent andrapid movement of a substrate among plural targets located in the samevacuum processing environment. Multiple layers of materials can bedeposited on a substrate in a single vacuum chamber with ultracleanvacuum base pressure, thus, limiting the contaminants which couldotherwise be introduced by changing targets during the depositionprocess, or by transporting the substrate to multiple vacuum processingchambers.

Another technical advantage of the present invention is precise controlover film thickness for any of the films in a multi-layer stack whichallows deposition of thin layers to fabricate various high-performancedevice structures including spin-valve GMR, tunneling MRAM, andsemiconductor interconnect material systems. The shutter mechanism canprovide precise control of stabilized deposition time for each PVDtarget resulting in improved uniformity for each deposition layer.Moreover, it allows effective in-situ cleaning of the substrate and/orthe PVD targets.

Another important technical advantage is provided by the electricalchopping process energy source which supports deposition of multiplelayers with minimal moving parts. Further, by altering the pulseintensity and frequency, improved diffusion of target atoms can beaccomplished over the substrate surface.

Another important technical advantage of the present invention isprovided by both in-situ and in-vacuo pre- and post-depositionmeasurements of material layers and process/equipment parameters toallow precision control of process and equipment parameters forachieving precise layer characteristics.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention and advantagesthereof may be acquired by referring to the following description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like referencenumbers indicate like features and wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts one embodiment of a spin-valve material structure forproducing GMR material effects;

FIG. 2 depicts a side view of a multi-target physical-vapor depositionapparatus and indexing chuck;

FIG. 3 depicts a top view of an indexing chuck having plural substratesupports;

FIG. 4 depicts a top view of a shuttering mechanism in conjunction withan indexing chuck;

FIG. 5 depicts a top view of a shuttering mechanism for plural targetsin conjunction with an indexing chuck having plural substrate supports;

FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram of a sensor-based control methodologyusing in-situ measurements during physical-vapor deposition processes;and

FIG. 7 depicts a top view of a vacuum metrology module associated with acluster tool and deposition chamber.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in thefigures, like numerals being used to refer to like and correspondingparts of the various drawings.

Physical-vapor deposition or PVD is a well-known technique fordepositing thin layers of materials onto a substrate for a variety ofsemiconductor, data storage, optoelectronics, and other applications.Plasma sputtering or plasma PVD is the most widely accepted PVDtechnique for deposition of various material layers. A power source,such as a DC magnetron or RF magnetron or an RF diode power source,creates power differential between a target assembly comprising thecathode and an anode ring in order to produce a plasma medium betweenthe target and the substrate within a controlled vacuum environment.This electrical power creates a gas discharge plasma and produces ionbombardment on the target surface (e.g., via argon ions), resulting insputtering of the target material and sputter deposition of the targetmaterial onto the substrate. CVC sells physical-vapor deposition tools,such as the CONNEXION® cluster tool, which can support vacuum-integratedphysical-vapor deposition of magnetic and non-magnetic as well aselectrically conductive and insulating films. The CVC cluster platformcan deposit multiple layers of different materials by attaching aphysical-vapor deposition module to the cluster platform for eachmaterial to be deposited, and then cycling the substrate through eachmodule. However, each process module has a cost associated with it,making the deposition of multiple different material layers expensiveusing this approach. Also, the process of transferring wafers to andfrom each module can slow production (due to the wafer handling overheadtime) and introduce impurities by repeated exposure of the substrates tothe wafer handling vacuum chamber.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a side view of a multi-target physical-vapordeposition apparatus 10 according to the present invention is depictedto include an indexing chuck mechanism 11 for enabling in-situdeposition of multi-layer material structures, from multiple targetsonto a substrate in a single vacuum processing module. Each targetessentially forms a process station for depositing material from thetarget to a substrate to form a layer of the material on the device sideof the substrate. Thus, plural process stations are formed within asingle vacuum chamber.

Multi-target physical-vapor deposition (PVD) apparatus 10 has a vacuumprocess chamber 12 with plural PVD targets 14 disposed in a target planealong the top chamber lid 15 of vacuum chamber 12. The combination of acryo pump 16 and water pump 18 evacuate vacuum chamber 12 and removeimpurities such as water in order to establish a very low vacuum basepressure. The cryo pump and water pump can reduce pressure within vacuumchamber 12 to ultraclean base pressure levels typically required foradvanced physical-vapor deposition, such as in the 10⁻⁹ Torr basepressure range. This very low base pressure enables ultracleandeposition of pure and controlled multi-layer material stacks by PVD. Inan alternative embodiment, a turbo-molecular pump can be used toevacuate the vacuum chamber.

Indexing mechanism 11 includes an indexing chuck and clamp assembly 20disposed in the vacuum process chamber 12 to operationally align asubstrate with each target 14 or PVD processing, and a means for movingindexing chuck 20 (e.g., a rotational indexing drive mechanism) to alignwith each of plural targets 14. Indexing chuck and clamp assembly 20 canuse a mechanical or electrostatic clamp. Indexing chuck assembly 20 issupported by a central shaft 22 and a drive motor 24, the shaft andmotor preferably located along a central axis of vacuum process chamber12 to rotate co-axial with the central axis of the vacuum processchamber 12. Motor 24 can vary the target-to-substrate spacing by liftingthe indexing chuck 20 towards targets 14 by lowering the indexing chuck20 away from targets 14 to adjust the deposition distance between anyselected target 14 and a substrate. When motor 24 lowers indexing chuck20 as is depicted in FIG. 2, a substrate can be inserted through chamberaccess valve 26 onto indexing chuck 20. Motor 24 can then raise thechuck and substrate to engage a clamp (if needed) and control thedistance between the substrate and targets 14 to allow optimization ofphysical-vapor deposition process parameters (e.g., process uniformity,repeatability, etc.).

Indexing chuck assembly 20 rotates (from one angular position to anotherangular position)as a radial arm in a substrate plane that issubstantially parallel to the target plane, the indexing rotationoccurring within vacuum process chamber 12 about the central axis with,indexing chuck 20 supported by central shaft 22. Although FIG. 2 depictstargets disposed along the top of the vacuum chamber for deposition on asubstrate having the device side facing up, in alternative embodiments,the targets could be disposed below the substrate plane to supportdepostion with the substrate having the device side facing down.Alternatively, the target and substrate planes can be oriented to allowdeposition in various vertical and horizontal orientations. Indexingchuck assembly 20 has a balancing arm 28 coupled to central shaft 22 atone end and coupled to substrate support 30 at its other end. Substratesupport 30 accepts a substrate through chamber access valve 26. A clamp32 secures a substrate by holding the substrate around its peripheryagainst substrate support 30. A magnet assembly 34 (such as anelectromagnet) can be associated with indexing chuck 20, the magnetassembly 34 providing a magnetic field for in-situ magnetic orientationof the layers during physical-vapor deposition of various materiallayers. In one alternative embodiment, a heating element can beincorporated with the indexing chuck to provide heating to the substrateduring processing. In another alternative embodiment, a cooling device,such as a passage for pumping cooled water, can be incorporated with theindexing chuck to provide cooling to the substrate during processing.

Indexing chuck 20 can rotate about the vertical axis of its centralshaft to move substrate support 30 from a first target to a secondtarget 14 located on a multi-target lid assembly. A stepper motor 24 canrotate indexing chuck 20 to align the central axis of substrate with thecentral axis of any of the targets selected for the next process step.Another stepper motor 36 is used to rotate a shutter plate in order toblock or expose any target 14 for the purposes of target cleaning,substrate cleaning, or physical-vapor deposition. Stepper motors 24 and36 can be controlled separately for independent control of the angularpositions of the indexing chuck 20 and indexing shutter 38. In oneembodiment, stepper motor 36 is a Parker-Hanifin stepping motor havingsixteen user selectable resolutions of up to 50,800 steps per revolutionand a rotation speed of 3,000 rpm. A sensing mechanism associated withstepper motor 36 initiates the stepper motor at a zero rotation (e.g.,home) position. From the zero rotation (home) position, stepper motor 24can precisely rotate indexing chuck 20 to align with a predeterminedselected target 14. Stepper motor 24 counts the number of steps which itrotates until it reaches a number of steps associated with the angularposition of the predetermined target 14 relative to the zero rotation orhome position. This relatively simple design allows precise substrateand target alignment without requiring a real-time feedback loop for therotation of indexing chuck 20. The positions of the targets 14 along thelid of vacuum chamber 12 can be computed and associated with anappropriate number of motor steps to allow a control system such as apersonal computer associated with stepper motor 24 to align substratesupport 30 with various targets sequentially according to apredetermined process sequence. In alternative embodiments, pluralindexing chucks can be disposed in the vacuum chamber by plural arms, orby a table supporting all of the chucks.

In operation, physical-vapor deposition apparatus 10 accepts a substratethrough chamber access valve 26 and secures the substrate againstsubstrate support 30 by engaging clamp 32 against substrate andsubstrate support 30. Motor 24 lifts central shaft 22 to press indexingchuck 20 upward against clamp 32 and to adjust the substrate-to-targetspacing. Stepper motor 24 then rotates indexing chuck 20 to alignsubstrate support 30 under a first predetermined target 14 (or underanother process energy source such as an inductively-coupled plasma orcleaning source). A power source, such as DC (or RF) magnetron powersource 40 or RF diode power source 42 can then provide power to target14 to deposit material from target 14 onto the substrate with sputterdown physical-vapor deposition. If desired, the system configuration canbe inverted to perform sputter up physical-vapor deposition (byinverting the entire module upside down). The deposition is preferablystatic deposition, meaning that the substrate does not move relative tothe target during deposition of material from the target to thesubstrate (and that the central axes of the substrate and the targetare-preferably aligned). Stepper motor 24 can then rotate indexing chuck20 to align substrate support 30 with a second target, and thereafterwith subsequent targets, according to a predetermined sequence ofprocess steps until the desired is multi-layered material structure hasbeen fabricated. After positioning the indexing chuck 20 and thesubstrate under each process station (e.g., a PVD target), stepper motor36 can be used to rotate the shutter plate 38 for in-situ cleaning ofthe target 14 and/or the substrate. During a material layer deposition,the angular coordinate of the indexing shutter 38 is set such that thetarget is fully exposed to allow material deposition onto the substrate.

Process considerations and the predetermined 25 sequence for depositinga desired multi-layer material structure can be determined by complexcontrol systems or by a simple process and machine control computerassociated with physical-vapor deposition apparatus 10. As an example ofhow the control system could operate, the time-dependent sequentialmulti-step operation of indexing mechanism 11 to support the depositionof the multi-layer structure depicted in FIG. 1 can provide anillustration of the type of process control sequence and equipmentneeded to deposit a desired material structure.

First, five targets corresponding to the five materials of the spinvalve GMR structure of FIG. 1 are coupled to lid 11 at predeterminedpositions. For instance, any of the PVD targets comprising tantalum(Ta), iron manganese (FeMn), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), and nickel iron(NiFe) can be mounted onto the-lid 11 in a substantially circularpattern, the circle preferably having an equal-distance radius from eachtarget to the central axis of vacuum chamber 12. In alternativeembodiments, any number of targets can be used, although presentstructures generally require at least two targets but not more thantwelve targets. The circular pattern of the targets allows each targetto align with the substrate on substrate support 30 when indexing chuck20 is rotated about the central axis which is perpendicular to thesubstrate plane. Each target 14 has an associated power supply tosupport physical-vapor deposition. Although mounting the targets ontothe vacuum chamber lid will support sputter-down physical-vapordeposition, sputter-up or other configurations of deposition processescan be supported in alternate embodiments by disposing the targets inother locations in the vacuum chamber. Further, each target can have itsown associated power supply, or alternatively, the targets can share oneor more associated DC or RF power supplies.

In order to fabricate the multi-layer stack of FIG. 1, indexing chuck 20is rotated by stepper motor 36 to align the substrate with the tantalumtarget position. A controller, such as a process control computerassociated with apparatus 10, can direct stepper motor 36 to rotate apredetermined number of steps in conjunction with a home sensor to findthe angular coordinate corresponding to the position of the tantalumtarget. The controller can also set equipment state parameters (e.g., DCmagnetron power, pressure, and deposition time) to deposit 3.5nanometers of tantalum on the substrate. For instance, the controllercan have up/down actuator and motor assembly 24 lift chuck 20 to achievea predetermined deposition distance between the substrate and thetantalum target in order to establish the optimal deposition uniformityand material properties. The controller can also operate cryo pump 16and water pump 18 to evacuate vacuum chamber 12 to a predeterminedpressure and to remove contaminants such as water vapor down to very lowbase pressures (e.g., ≦5×10⁻⁹ Torr). Although stepper motor 24 rotatesindexing chuck 20 to position a substrate underneath any one of theplurality of targets 14, in other embodiments the targets could be movedrelative to the indexing chuck by instead moving the targets, the chuck,or by moving both the targets and the chuck. The preferred embodiment ofthis invention, however, utilizes stationary targets (mounted on thevacuum chamber lid) in conjunction with an indexing chuck assembly.

After the tantalum target and substrate are aligned, the controller caninitiate physical-vapor deposition of Ta by applying power (e.g., DCelectrical power) from the power source to the tantalum target for apredetermined deposition time and at a predetermined power level. Thecontroller can cease deposition by eliminating the power applied to thetarget once the thickness of the tantalum has reached the desired 3.5nanometers. If necessary, a target pre-clean can be performed prior toPVD of Ta by first closing the shutter and applying the electrical powerto Ta target and then performing deposition of Ta by opening theshutter.

In one embodiment, the controller can vary the power over time, forinstance by pulsing (e.g., pulsed DC power), to allow the material todiffuse over the substrate. For instance, the controller can providepower with electrical chopping by switching the power source on and off.As an example, while 400 watts of power (average electrical power) coulddeposit a two nanometer thick film in a single one second pulse, thesame material layer thickness may also be deposited using 10 sequentialcycles of 10% duty-cycle pulses, each having a 400 watt (peak power) 100millisecond pulse followed by 900 milliseconds of no power. Electricalchopping can combine the advantages associated with precision controlledlow film growth rates, such as improved surface diffusion of sputteredmaterial (and improved material layer microstructure control), with thedesirable properties of a high power deposition environment, such asimproved plasma density and enhanced plasma stability. In essence,electrical chopping mimics the effects of dynamic deposition by changingthe plasma directed at the substrate over time. Filaments or otherelectron sources proximate the target can aid the initiation ofdeposition and stabilization of plasma by providing an electric charge(e.g., electrons) to the plasma associated with the target. Other energysources such as optical sources may be used instead of electron sourcesto accomplish the same result.

Once the tantalum layer deposition is complete, stepper motor 24 canrotate indexing chuck 20 to align the substrate with the position of thenickel iron (NiFe) target. The controller can again adjust the equipmentstate parameters (e.g., DC magnetron power, substrate temperature,pressure, etc.) and apply power to deposit a 4 nanometer thick layer ofnickel iron (e.g., Ni 80%, Fe 20%) onto the substrate. Again, ifdesired, a sputter pre-clean process can be performed on the NiFe target(by first closing the indexing shutter) in order to clean the targetprior to the PVD process. Stepper motor 24 can continue to rotateindexing chuck 20 to align with each subsequent target according to thesequence of the multi-layer structure. Note that the tantalum and cobalttargets will each make two deposits according to the predeterminedsequence (see FIG. 1), meaning that indexing chuck 20 will have to alignthe substrate with each of these targets twice during the multi-stepspin-valve GMR process sequence. Alternatively, two targets each oftantalum and cobalt could be used. Once the multi-layer structure iscomplete, the substrate can be removed from vacuum chamber 12 throughaccess valve 26 and replaced with a new substrate that will be processedfor deposition of a similar multi-layer spin-valve GMR structure (or anyother multi-layer material structure).

Referring now to FIG. 3, one embodiment of an indexing chuck 20 isdepicted having plural substrate supports 30. Each substrate support 30can securely hold one substrate as described above (or a substratecarrier comprising a plurality of substrates). The use of pluralsubstrate supports in the same vacuum chamber can enhance processingthroughput by allowing simultaneous processing of multiple substratesand deposition of plural multi-layer structures in the same vacuumenvironment. The deposition on plural substrates can be accomplished bysequentially depositing individual layers or complete structures on afirst and then a second substrate. Alternatively, simultaneousdeposition of the same material from plural targets or of differentmaterials from plural targets to each substrate can be accomplished. Ina PVD chamber with N target positions, we may use indexing chuck designswith either a single chuck arm or multiple (2−N) chuck arms.

For instance, one relatively simple multi-layer laminated structure usedin thin-film head devices can be used to illustrate the operation ofphysical-vapor deposition apparatus 10 equipped with plural substratesupports (i.e., a plurality of chuck arms). Multiple layers of silicondioxide (SiO₂) and iron tantalum nitride (FeTaN) alloy deposited on asubstrate in an alternating sequence can form a laminated magneticmulti-layer structure suitable as low-loss magnetic flux guides andinductive cores. First and second target positions a comprised ofsilicon dioxide, as well as third and fourth target positions comprisedof an iron tantalum nitride alloy can be disposed in a circularconfiguration on the lid of the vacuum chamber. The configuration cancorrespond to the position of each substrate support so that an indexingchuck 20 with two substrate support arms (spaced apart by 180°) willalign both substrates either with the first and second targetssimultaneously or with the third and fourth targets simultaneously. Forinstance, the targets can each be arranged in 90 degree increments(assuming four target positions), while the substrate support chuck armscan be arranged at 180° from one another (assuming two arms).

A personal computer associated with physical-vapor deposition apparatus10 can provide instructions to stepper motor 24 to rotate indexing chuck20 from the first or second target to the third or fourth targetaccording to the predetermined sequence, with a power source depositingthe silicon dioxide or iron tantalum nitride alloy when substratesupports 30 align with the appropriate targets. The indexing chuck canrepeatedly align the substrate supports to allow the deposition of many(e.g., fifty or more) layers of each material. In this way,physical-vapor deposition apparatus 10 can advantageously deposit pluralmaterials from plural targets in a single vacuum chamber module, thusincreasing throughput and decreasing the likelihood of introducingimpurities to the deposited structure.

In alternative embodiments, the number and composition of targets can bealtered to allow “continuous flow” or “assembly-line” processing ofsubstrates. For example, a multi-layer structure having layers in asequence of T1, T2, T3 and T4 can be deposited on each of foursubstrates by using an indexing chuck with four substrate holders (fourchuck arms spaced apart by 90° from one another). Four targets T1, T2,T3 and T4, and the four substrate holders (four chuck arms) can bearranged in matching circular configurations, each of the targets andeach of the holders divided into 90 degree intervals. A first substrateS1 on a first support can be aligned with target T1 for deposition ofthe first layer in the sequence. The indexing chuck can then be rotatedto align S1 with T2, and another substrate, S2, can be added on thesecond substrate support arm aligned with T1 for simultaneous depositionof T2 onto S1 and T1 onto S2. The process repeats to allow simultaneousdeposition of T3 onto S1, T2 onto S2, and T1 onto a new substrate S3supported on the third support (third chuck arm). The next repetitioncompletes the deposition of the predetermined sequence on S1 bysimultaneously depositing T4 onto S1, T3 onto S2, T2 onto S3, and T1onto a new substrate S4 supported on the fourth support. S1 can then beremoved and replaced with a new substrate to allow continued (continuousflow) production of the desired multi-layer structure as describedabove.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a shuttering mechanism is depicted which canenhance cleanliness of the target materials, control of film thicknessand the quality of interface cohesion between deposited films. Shutterassembly 44 is disposed in vacuum chamber 12 to interpose betweenindexing chuck 20 and the targets 14. Shutter assembly 38 has a rotatingshutter plate 46 coupled to a shutter indexing rotation stripper motor36, the shutter rotating in a shutter plane that is between andsubstantially parallel to the substrate plane and the target plane.Shield 46 has a hole or circular opening 50 which can allowphysical-vapor deposition of a material from a selected target to asubstrate 52 while blocking the access to the remaining targets. Shieldhole 50 has a diameter which is somewhat larger than the diameter of anassociated target (or its diameter may be larger than the diameter ordiagonal dimension of the substrate and smaller than the targetdiameter). The shutter assembly has two primary purposes. One purpose issputter cleaning of any of the targets by closing the shutter at theselected target location prior to opening the target and performing thePVD process. The second purpose is to align the shutter opening with anyselected target to perform depositions while blocking the non-selectedtargets.

In operation, shield 46 is interposed between the target plane and thesubstrate plane with shield hole 50 aligned with substrate support 30and the selected target during the deposition process. Shield 48 rotateswith indexing chuck 20 to maintain a path for deposition of materialfrom targets 14 to substrate 52 (except during target sputter clean whenthe shutter opening is not aligned with the selected target). Whensubstrate 52, shield hole 50, and a selected target 14 are axiallyaligned, shutter assembly 38 can then rotate to block shield hole 50,thus preventing deposition of material onto substrate 52. Shutterassembly 38 can be rotated between this target-to-substrate blockingconfiguration and a target-to-substrate open view depositionconfiguration in which shutter opening 50 is aligned axially between thetarget and the substrate to allow deposition of material from the targetto the substrate. An electric or pneumatic actuator (e.g., stepper motor36) is associated with shutter assembly 38 for rapidly moving shutterplate 46 between the blocking (no deposition and/or target sputtercleaning mode) and deposition configurations. In one embodiment, shutterplate 46 is comprised of a thin titanium or stainless steel sheet (ifnecessary, reinforced with radial ribs) which is insulated from directelectrical contact with the target or the substrate (the shutter plate46 is preferably grounded) so as to allow deposition from the target tothe substrate (with the shutter opening aligned with the selected targetand the substrate) as well as to allow cleaning of the target (byapplying power to the target) and cleaning of the substrate (by applyingpower to the indexing chuck assembly 20. The light weight of thisstainless steel or titanium sheet enhances rapid actuation between theblocking and deposition configurations (typical target-to-target shutterindexing time is less than 5 seconds).

Shutter assembly 38 improves the control of the deposition of a materialfrom a target to substrate 52. For instance, power can be applied to thetarget to stabilize the plasma and initiate physical-vapor deposition toshutter 46 (in conjunction with target cleaning) while shutter 46 is ina blocking configuration for the selected target. This advantageouslypre-cleans the target by depositing the external layer of material fromthe target to shutter 46, and also allows stabilization of thedeposition process by first stabilizing the plasma. Shutter 46 can thenbe rapidly actuated or indexed to,a deposition configuration (shutteropening 50 axially aligned with the target and the substrate) whichallows the material from the target to be deposited onto substrate 52.After a predetermined deposition time, shutter 46 can be actuated back(by index rotation) to a blocking configuration to terminate depositionof material onto substrate 52, and then electrical power (either RF orDC power in pulsed or continuous mode) can be cut off from the target.In one alternative embodiment, shutter 46 can provide dynamic-modemechanical chopping by opening and closing shutter 46 to control theduty cycle of the pulsed deposition process described above as analternative to electrical chopping. Similar to electrical chopping,mechanical chopping (using the rotating shutters) mimics the effect ofdynamic physical-vapor deposition without actually rotating thesubstrate relative to the target during deposition of the material fromthe target. A pulsed deposition (either wing pulsed DC/RF electricalpower or by mechanical chopping wing shutter rotation) process can beused to obtain precision controlled reduced deposition rates forcontrolled deposition of very thin films. In another embodiment, shutter46 can preclean a substrate rather than a target by applying anelectrical bias (RP or DC) to the substrate chuck while closing theshutter.

Shutter 46 advantageously provides a capability for precise control overthe deposition time associated with each target, thus eliminating thetransient plasma start-up and stabilization effects. Further, thephysical-vapor deposition plasma and related process can stabilize whileshutter 46 is in a blocking configuration, thus allowing a stable plasmaand sputtering flux from the target to develop before shutter 46 isactuated to its deposition configuration (i.e., shutter hole alignedwith target and substrate). In addition, the stabilization of the PVDplasma and deposition process provide in conjunction with precisioncontrol of the active process time precise and abrupt interfaces betweenmaterial layers. Thus, shutter mechanism 38 can be used to enable orsupport deposition of material structures for applications such asspin-value GMR and magnet RAM (MRAM) devices.

Referring now to FIG. 5, another embodiment of an alternative shutterassembly 54 is depicted. Shutter assembly 54 can support simultaneous orconcurrent depositions from plural (e.g., two or more) targetsassociated with plural shield holes 60 in shield 58 (example shown inFIG. 5 shows two shield holes in conjunction with a 2-arm indexing chuckand up to four targets). For instance, shutter assembly 54 can supportthe simultaneous or concurrent depositions of a multi-layer structurecomprised of iron tantalum nitride (FeTan) and silicon dioxide (SiO₂)onto two separate substrates as is described above. Shutter assembly 54simply rotates with the indexing drive mechanism and alternates betweena blocking position and deposition position to precisely controldepositions from the two different targets in order to fabricate alaminated FeTan/SiO₂ structure.

One significant advantage of the multi-target physical-vapor depositionapparatus 10 of this invention depicted herein over existing or priorart dynamic physical-vapor deposition systems is that the staticmulti-target indexing deposition used by the present invention allowsthe use of various in-situ sensors in the vacuum chamber to monitor thesubstrate or process states and to control the substrate andphysical-vapor deposition process parameters. Referring now to FIG. 6,one embodiment of a monitoring and control system 100 is depicted.Monitoring and control system 100 relies upon in-situ sensors that canbe located in or proximate the actual deposition vacuum chamber for realtime, in-situ measurements of deposition parameters (including thesubstrate state, process state, and/or equipment state parameters), orin-vacuu sensors that can be located in a dedicated vacuum metrologymodule attached to a central wafer handler for in-vacuupre/post-deposition measurements and run-by-run process control. Thefollowing table lists various useful in-situ process and equipment statesensors which can measure equipment or process or substrate stateparameters directly in the vacuum chamber or through chamber viewportsin support of monitoring and control system 100.

Sensor/Supplier Primary Application Secondary Application B-H looperwith H_(cc), H_(ch), H_(k), α₈₀ and B/ Use pickup coil as Helmholtz andpickup thickness of individual eddy current sensor to coils. Coils canbe films. measure sheet resist- installed inside Low field B-H loop ofance. chamber to probe an spin valve GMR: Use Helmholtz coils toeffective diameter of coercivities, coupling apply field on sub- 3″.Chuck should have field, moments, etc. strate for MR and fixture to pickup, Kerr-MO measure- rotate and put down ments. wafer. Four point probeSheet resistance of MR ratio of ferro- sensor. Probe head individualelectrically magnetic films. can be mounted over conductive films andGMR ratio of spin wafer center and may stacks. valves. extend/retractaway from wafer surface. Spectral ellipsometer Film thickness of ExploitKerr-MO that can be installed individual films and effect by performingon optical ports to stacks. ellipsometry with measure a spot on theapplied external field. wafer. XRF sensor installed Composition andthick- on optical ports (with ness of individual films special windows).and stacks.

The following table lists sensors which can be implemented in ametrology module associated with the physical-vapor deposition apparatus10.

Sensor/Supplier Primary Application Secondary Application Spectralellipsometer Film thickness for Reflectance installed on opticalindividual films and (specular/non- ports to measure a stacks (as wellas specular) measurement spot at the center of thickness uniformity ofsurface roughness. the wafer. profiles). Exploit Kerr-MO effect byperforming ellipsometry with applied external field. I-V Probe Plasmasource current Plasma diagnostics and voltage Optical emissionEstimation of Small signal power sensor in conjunction instantaneousperturbation to with current/voltage deposition rate estimate systemgain probes. through indirect (detect drifts) and measurement of plasmaalter sputtering density. power to maintain deposition rate. RGAConfirmation of Implementation of partial pressures prepump/purge/burn-in to and post processing. stay within partial pressureslimits. Acoustic thermometer Wafer temperature Correct for drifts inembedded in chuck. (including temperature wafer temperature uniformity)from run to run. Magnetic flux/skew Magnetic flux and skew Equipmentdiagnostics sensor embedded in on chuck surface to chuck. detect buildupof ferromagnetic and AFM layers on wafer clamp and increase in magnetronstray field as target erodes. Atomic absorption Flux of atomic speciesEstimate deposition sensor installed on in plasma. rate based on modeloptical port. that includes effect of pressure and target to substratespacing.

Any one or a combination of the sensors in Table 1 or Table 2 canprovide input to a control loop for the purpose ofequipment/process/wafer state parameter control for optimizing adeposition process. The sensors and associated control for each sensorcan be classified as related to a wafer state, which involves theproperties of deposited films; a process state, which involves theplasma density, ion flux, ionization ratio and other process parameters;and equipment state, which varies the process state by changingequipment-related parameters such as vacuum chamber pressure, powersettings, and substrate-to-target spacing.

Referring now to FIG. 7 a top view of a cluster tool 134 and a vacuummetrology module 136 are depicted in association with physical vapordeposition apparatus 10 to support monitoring of process parameters withmonitoring sensors as described in the above table. An optical port 130can accept a sensor, such as a signal associated with a spectralellipsometer, so that measurements can be made by a sensor associatedwith a second optical port 132. Vacuum metrology module 136 can holdsensors to obtain in-vacu post process sensor readings. An associatedcontrol system 138 can accept sensor measurements to providedmodel-based process end-point detection or other control as describedherein.

Monitoring and control device 100 depicted in FIG. 6 can enhancephysical-vapor deposition process control to provide high-qualitymulti-layer structures such as spin valve GMR material stacks.Monitoring and control device 100 can operate using one or moreprocessors, such as personal computers, associated with vacuum chamber12. Equipment state 102, process state 104, and wafer state 106 depictthe parameters associated with physical-vapor deposition. Physical-vapordeposition is initiated with an initial process recipe 108 which can bealtered by feedback signals to create updated tuned process recipe 110.The updated process recipe 110 establishes an equipment state 102 byproviding equipment state settings such as vacuum chamber pressuresettings, electrical power settings, substrate cooling or heating, andsubstrate-to-target spacing settings. Real-time equipment sensors 112sense the equipment settings and provide the sensed equipment settingsto real-time equipment controller 114. Real-time equipment control loop114 incorporates the output of the real time equipment sensors 112 toprovide corrections for the equipment state needed to ensure that theequipment state achieves the parameters set forth in the updated processrecipe 110.

Equipment state 102 can influence the process state 104, such as theplasma density, ion flux, and ionization ratio produced by associatedequipment settings. Real-time process sensors 116 monitor the processstate and provide measurements of the process state to real-time processcontrol loop 118. Real-time process control loop 118 can providecorrective action to equipment state 102, thus altering the equipmentstate to achieve a predetermined process state when the process stateproduced by equipment settings according to the process recipe variesfrom expected performance.

Process state 104 results in an output depicted as wafer state 106 suchas the quality or thickness of a film deposited on a substrate.Real-time wafer sensors 120 can measure film thickness through anin-situ spectral ellipsometry thickness monitor having access to thewafer through a port located along the vacuum chamber walls, and canprovide film thickness measurements to alter equipment state 102 tocorrect deviations from expected thickness results. Wafer state 106 canalso be measured by post-process in-situ wafer sensors 122. Post-processwafer measurements can be passed to run-by-run loop 124 which providesearly warning and product variation control aspects. The early warningaspect monitors deposition results to detect failures that can be causedby sudden changes in the process, such as flaking or arcing, but thatcannot be corrected by real-time control. The early warning aspect cannotify an operator of a failure to meet specifications to cancel furtherprocessing of the failed wafer. This early warning can providesignificant savings by scrapping failed wafers before continuedexpensive processing is accomplished. The product variation controlaspect of the run-by-run loop 124 monitors slow process changes ordrifts that can result from target wear, deposition on chamber walls andwafer chucks and other wafer equipment aging effects. Process changescan also be introduced by factors other than the physical-vapordeposition apparatus itself, such as variations in targets andsubstrates. Thus, product variation control aspect can identifylot-to-lot or run-to-run variations, and can inform an operator of thesevariations. The product variation control provides an update to theprocess recipe 110 based on quantitative models for the relationshipbetween physical properties, microstructure, process conditions, andequipment state to optimize process recipes.

Intelligent diagnosis loop 126 can accept process measurements and wafermeasurements to provide equipment diagnosis by analyzing anomalousprocess conditions not otherwise serious enough to trigger hardwarefault. Intelligent diagnosis loop 126 monitors trends in processconditions to provide a prognosis of the equipment state which canpredict faults and future failures. Intelligent diagnosis loop 126output can allow optimal scheduling of equipment maintenance to increaseuptime, and accordingly to provide better throughput.

Monitoring and control device 100 can provide a number of advantages forprocessing of wafers on an industrial scale. First, the early warning,drift recognition and real-time control can reduce the number ofscrapped wafers. Second, fault detection will allow preventivemaintenance based on actual equipment state rather than a set timeschedule, and slow degradation of equipment can be compensated tooptimize process parameters with direct feedback. Third, feedbackcontrol based on real-time measurements can provide dramatic improvementof process control to enable reliable processing of multi-layerstructures for performing advanced GMR effects. Finally, the wafer,process, and equipment state sensors will enable rapid development ofprocess models to improve existing processes based on measuredproduction results.

Although the present invention has been described in detail, it shouldbe understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can bemade hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionas defined by the appended claims.

1. An apparatus for physical-vapor deposition of a multi-layer material structure onto a substrate, the material structure having plural layers deposited according to a predetermined sequence, each layer comprised of one of plural materials, the apparatus comprising: a single, contiguous vacuum chamber; plural targets disposed in the vacuum chamber, at least one target comprised of one of the plural materials; at least one power source associated with the plural targets for supporting physical-vapor deposition; a substrate support chuck disposed in the vacuum chamber for supporting the substrate; an electromagnet coupled to the substrate support chuck, the electromagnet for formation of a magnetic field proximate to the substrate; and a mechanical indexing mechanism that moves the substrate support chuck and electromagnet relative to the plural targets in order to align and maintain the substrate in substantial alignment with any one of the targets to deposit the multi-layer material structure of the plural materials according to the predetermined sequence; the electromagnet moving along with the substrate support chuck such that the electromagnet may support deposition of magnetic materials onto the substrate at any of the plural targets.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said physical-vapor deposition comprises a plasma sputtering process.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said physical-vapor deposition comprises an ion-beam deposition process.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said physical-vapor deposition comprises an evaporation process.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each of said plural targets form a process station, with the plural process stations sharing said vacuum chamber.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said multi-layer material structure is a spin-valve GMR sensor.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said multi-layer material structure is an MRAM structure.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said multi-layer material structure is a periodic laminated structure.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said multi-layer material structure is a colossal MR sensor structure.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said multi-layer material structure is a semiconductor interconnect structure.
 11. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the target in any process station may be replaced with an inductively-coupled plasma source for surface cleaning of said substrate.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said plural targets comprise 3 to 6 targets.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the targets are disposed in a target plane and the substrate support chuck is disposed in a substrate plane, the substrate plane substantially parallel to the target plane.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said target plane is located above the substrate plane with the substrate device side facing up.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said target plane is located below the substrate plane with the substrate device side facing down.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 13 wherein said mechanical indexing mechanism is associated with the substrate support chuck for moving and aligning the substrate support chuck to any one of the plural targets according to the predetermined sequence.
 17. The apparatus according to claim 16 wherein the mechanical indexing mechanism comprises: a motor; and an indexing arm coupled to the motor and the substrate support chuck, the indexing arm for rotating the substrate support chuck in the substrate plane.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said indexing arm is a radial arm connected to a central indexing axis.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said mechanical indexing mechanism comprises rotational indexing around a central axis.
 20. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said central axis corresponds to the central axis of the vacuum chamber.
 21. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the electromagnet supports deposition of multi-layer structures comprising magnetic material layers.
 22. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said substrate support chuck comprises a heating element for heating said substrate.
 23. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said substrate support chuck comprises a cooling device for actively cooling said substrate.
 24. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said substrate support chuck comprises either a mechanical clamp or an electrostatic clamp for substrate clamping.
 25. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a sensor associated with the vacuum chamber for measuring deposition process state parameters.
 26. The apparatus according to claim 25 wherein the sensor further comprises a real-time in-situ sensor disposed in the vacuum chamber.
 27. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein said sensor is a spectral ellipsometer.
 28. The apparatus according to claim 25 further comprising a vacuum metrology module associated with the vacuum chamber, the metrology module for holding at least one sensor to obtain in-vacuu post-process measurements.
 29. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein said metrology module and said physical-vapor deposition apparatus are docked onto a vacuum cluster tool hub.
 30. The apparatus according to claim 25 further comprising a control system associated with the sensor and with said apparatus for controlling the physical-vapor deposition process parameters.
 31. The apparatus according to claim 30 wherein the control system is further associated with the power source for varying electrical power applied to the targets to perform electrical chopping.
 32. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein said control system is used for sensor-based, model-based process end-point detection.
 33. The apparatus according to claim 31 wherein the power source comprises a radio-frequency power source.
 34. The apparatus according to claim 31 wherein the power source comprises a direct current power source.
 35. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising an up/down actuation mechanism in conjunction with the substrate support chuck for adjusting the spacing between the targets and the substrate.
 36. The apparatus according to claim 35 wherein a control system is further associated with the up/down actuation mechanism for controlling the spacing between the targets and the substrate.
 37. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a vacuum pump system associated with the vacuum chamber for varying the pressure and for establishing a load-pressure processing environment within the vacuum chamber.
 38. The apparatus of claim 37 wherein said vacuum pump system comprises a cryo pump.
 39. The apparatus of claim 37 wherein said vacuum pump system comprises a water removal pump.
 40. The apparatus of claim 37 wherein said vacuum pump system comprises a turbo-molecular pump.
 41. The apparatus according to claim 37 wherein a control system is further associated with the vacuum pump for controlling the pressure within the vacuum chamber.
 42. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a shutter associated with the vacuum chamber, the shutter operational to block deposition when inserted between the substrate support chuck and a selected target, the shutter further operational to allow deposition when removed from between the substrate support chuck and the selected target.
 43. The apparatus of claim 42 wherein said shutter comprises a metallic plate with at least one large-area hole.
 44. The apparatus of claim 43 wherein said hole is aligned between the substrate support chuck and the selected target to allow deposition of the target material onto the substrate.
 45. The apparatus according to claim 13 further comprising: a shutter mechanism associated with the vacuum chamber, the shutter mechanism comprising: a shutter disposed in the vacuum chamber in a shutter plane, the shutter plane substantially parallel to and between the target plane and the substrate plane; and a shutter indexing actuator coupled to the shutter for moving the shutter between a blocking configuration and a deposition configuration.
 46. The apparatus of claim 45 wherein said shutter indexing actuator operates in a static mode to move said shutter into predetermined stationary position, with respect to said plural targets.
 47. The apparatus of claim 45 wherein said shutter indexing actuator operates in a dynamic rotation mode to perform mechanical chopping of the physical-vapor deposition process.
 48. The apparatus according to claim 45 wherein the plural targets are disposed in a substantially circular configuration having a central axis, the apparatus further comprising: plural substrate support chucks disposed in the vacuum chamber along the substrate plane, the mechanical indexing mechanism operable to align each substrate support chuck with one of the plural targets; and wherein the shutter mechanism further comprises at least one shutter disposed in at least one shutter plane about the central axis, said at least one shutter operable for rotating between a blocking configuration and a deposition configuration with respect to at least one substrate support chuck.
 49. The apparatus of claim 48 wherein said at least one shutter is connected to an electrical ground potential.
 50. The apparatus of claim 48 wherein the radial coordinates of the center points of said plural targets and the radial coordinates of the center points of said plural substrate support chucks are all substantially equal.
 51. The apparatus of claim 48 wherein said plural substrate support chucks are coupled to plural indexing arms.
 52. The apparatus of claim 51 wherein said plural indexing arms couple to a single rotational indexing mechanism at the center of said vacuum chamber.
 53. The apparatus of claim 48 wherein the number of said plural targets is an integer multiplier of the number of said plural substrate support chucks, with the integer multiplier being a number between 1 and
 6. 54. The apparatus according to claim 48 wherein the shutter is comprised of a stainless steel plate.
 55. The apparatus of claim 48 wherein the shutter is comprised of a titanium plate.
 56. A method for physical-vapor deposition of a multi-layer material structure onto a substrate, the structure having at least a first layer comprised of a first material and a second layer comprised of a second material, the method comprising the steps of: disposing a first stationary target in a single, contiguous vacuum chamber, the first target comprised of the first material; disposing a second stationary target in the vacuum chamber, the second target comprised of the second material; supporting the substrate on a substrate support chuck coupled to a mechanical indexing mechanism in the vacuum chamber; maintaining the substrate support chuck in substantial alignment with the first stationary target with the mechanical indexing mechanism; depositing the first material from the first stationary target onto the substrate by applying electrical power to the first target, the vacuum chamber remaining contiguous during the deposition of the first material onto the substrate; using the mechanical indexing mechanism to move the substrate support chuck, along with an electromagnet coupled to the substrate support chuck and operable to support deposition of magnetic materials onto the substrate at any of the first or second targets, from the first stationary target to the second stationary target; maintaining the substrate support chuck in substantial alignment with the second stationary target with the mechanical indexing mechanism; applying a magnetic field proximate to the substrate with the electromagnet coupled to the substrate support chuck in substantial alignment with the second stationary target; and depositing the second material from the second stationary target onto the substrate by applying electrical power to the second target, the vacuum chamber remaining contiguous during the deposition of the second material onto the substrate.
 57. The method of claim 56 wherein said multi-layer material structure is a spin-valve GMR sensor, a laminated structure, a colossal MR structure, or a semiconductor interconnect structure.
 58. The method according to claim 56 wherein the mechanical indexing mechanism comprises a motor coupled to an indexing arm, the indexing arm coupled to the substrate support chuck.
 59. The method according to claim 59 wherein the motor comprises an electrical stepper motor.
 60. The method according to claim 59 further comprising the step of adjusting the spacing between the substrate and the first target with an up/down actuating mechanism coupled to the indexing arm and the substrate support chuck.
 61. The method according to claim 60 wherein said depositing the first material step further comprises: aligning the substrate support chuck with the first stationary target; inserting a shutter between the first stationary target and the substrate; initiating deposition of the first material onto the shutter by applying an electrical power to the first stationary target; removing the shutter to provide substrate-to-target view and to allow deposition of the first material to the substrate; and inserting the shutter between the first stationary target and the substrate to block deposition of the first material onto the substrate.
 62. The method of claim 61 wherein said shutter is used to establish precision material layer thickness control by stabilizing the plasma with the shutter closed and by controlling the deposition time via the duration of opening the shutter.
 63. The method according to claim 60 further comprising the steps of precleaning the first stationary target before depositing the first material onto the substrate, the precleaning step comprising the steps of: inserting a shutter between the first stationary target and the substrate; and depositing material from the first stationary target onto the shutter by applying an electrical power to the first target.
 64. The method according to claim 56 further comprising the steps of precleaning the substrate before depositing the first material onto the substrate, the precleaning step comprising the steps of: inserting a shutter between the first stationary target and the substrate; and applying an electrical power to said substrate support chuck.
 65. The method according to claim 56 wherein said depositing the first material further comprises providing a predetermined electrical power to the first target for a predetermined time, the power and time corresponding to a desired layer thickness and other material layer properties.
 66. The method according to claim 65 wherein said depositing the first material step further comprises depositing the first material with electrical chopping through modulation of an electrical power source.
 67. The method according to claim 65 wherein said depositing the first material step further comprises depositing the first material with mechanical chopping through rotation indexing modulation of a shutter.
 68. An apparatus for physical-vapor deposition of plural material layers onto a substrate, each layer comprised of one of plural materials, the apparatus comprising: a single, contiguous vacuum chamber, plural stationary targets disposed in the vacuum chamber, at least one target comprised of one of the plural materials; a substrate support chuck disposed in the vacuum chamber for supporting the substrate in a deposition configuration wherein the substrate is maintained in substantial alignment with any one of the plural targets; an electromagnet coupled to the substrate support chuck, the electromagnet for formation of a magnetic field proximate to the substrate for supporting deposition of a magnetic material layer by any of the plural targets; an indexing arm coupled to the substrate support chuck and operable to move the substrate support chuck and electromagnet relative to the plural targets in order to align and maintain the substrate in substantial alignment with any one of the plural targets; an electrical power source associated with the plural targets and the substrate for supporting physical-vapor deposition; and a mechanical shutter mechanism interposed between the plural targets and the substrate support chuck, the mechanical shutter mechanism having; a deposition configuration for each of the plural targets wherein physical-vapor deposition onto the substrate from that target is allowed; and a blocking configuration wherein physical-vapor deposition onto the substrate from that target is prevented.
 69. The apparatus of claim 68 wherein said power source operates in conjunction with a DC magnetron energy source.
 70. The apparatus of claim 68 wherein said power source operates in conjunction with an RF magnetron energy source.
 71. The apparatus of claim 68 wherein said power source operates in conjunction with an RF diode energy source.
 72. The apparatus according to claim 68 wherein the shutter mechanism comprises: a shield having a hole, the hole corresponding with the deposition configuration to allow deposition of the plural materials onto the substrate; a shutter for covering the hole to block deposition of the plural materials onto the substrate and for exposing the hole to allow deposition of the plural materials; and a shutter indexing actuator associated with the shutter for moving the shutter to cover and expose the hole.
 73. The apparatus according to claim 72 wherein the shutter indexing actuator comprises an electric motor actuator.
 74. The apparatus according to claim 72 wherein the actuator comprises a pneumatic actuator.
 75. The apparatus according to claim 72 further comprising: a first target comprising a first material, the first target disposed in the vacuum chamber; a second target comprising a second material, the second target disposed in the vacuum chamber; a mechanical indexing mechanism associated with the indexing arm coupled to the substrate support chuck, the mechanical indexing mechanism for aligning the substrate with the first target and the second target based on a pre-specified process sequence.
 76. An apparatus for formation of multi-layer material structures using physical-vapor deposition of plural materials onto a substrate according to a predetermined sequence, the apparatus comprising: a single, contiguous vacuum chamber having a central axis; plural targets disposed in the vacuum chamber in a circular configuration about the central axis, the targets forming a target plane, the targets having the plural materials, at least one power source associated with the targets for supporting physical-vapor deposition process; first and second substrate support chucks disposed in a substrate plane in the vacuum chamber for holding first and second substrates, the substrate plane substantially parallel to the target plane; first and second indexing arms coupled to the first and second substrate support chucks; an electromagnet coupled to at least one of the substrate support chucks, the electromagnet for formation of a magnetic field in the substrate plane; and at least one indexing mechanism associated with the first and second indexing arms and substrate support chucks, the at least one indexing mechanism for rotating the first and second indexing arms, the substrate support chucks, and the electromagnet coupled to at least one of the substrate support chucks in the substrate plane to maintain each substrate support chuck in substantial alignment with one of the plural targets according to the predetermined sequence; wherein the electromagnet may support deposition of magnetic materials onto the substrate at any of the plural targets.
 77. The apparatus according to claim 76 wherein the indexing mechanism comprises: an indexing arm disposed in the vacuum chamber, the indexing arm for rotating the first and second indexing substrate support chucks in the substrate plane, the indexing arm rotating the substrate support chucks in a circle about the central axis; and a motor associated with the indexing arm, the motor rotating the indexing arm to align the substrate support chucks with selected targets according to the predetermined sequence.
 78. The apparatus according to claim 77 wherein the motor has a zero rotation home position and wherein each target is disposed in the vacuum chamber at a predetermined position relative to the zero rotation position, the motor rotating the substrate support chucks to each predetermined target position by rotating a predetermined angular rotation associated with each target position.
 79. The apparatus according to claim 76 wherein the targets are coupled to the top lid of the vacuum chamber to support physical-vapor deposition in sputter-down mode.
 80. A method for depositing first and second materials from first and second targets onto a substrate to form a multi-layer structure on the substrate, the structure having a first layer comprised of the first material and a second layer comprised of the second material, the method comprising the steps of: disposing the first and second targets in a single, contiguous vacuum chamber; maintaining the substrate in substantial alignment with the first target in the vacuum chamber; depositing the first material onto the substrate; moving the substrate, along with an electromagnet associated with the substrate, with a mechanical indexing mechanism to align with the second target; applying a magnetic field proximate to the substrate with the electromagnet disposed in the vacuum chamber, the electromagnet for supporting deposition of a magnetic material layer; and depositing the second material onto the substrate, the vacuum chamber remaining contiguous during the deposition of the second material onto the substrate.
 81. The method according to claim 80 wherein the depositing the second material step comprises the step of providing an equipment state according to a process recipe to establish a predetermined process state, the process state resulting in deposition of the material according to a predetermined wafer state.
 82. The method according to claim 81 further comprising the steps of: sensing the equipment state; and adjusting the equipment state parameters to achieve the process recipe.
 83. The method according to claim 81 further comprising the steps of: sensing the process state; and adjusting the equipment state parameters to achieve the predetermined process state.
 84. The method according to claim 81 further comprising the steps of: sensing the wafer state; and adjusting the equipment state to achieve the predetermined wafer state.
 85. The method according to claim 80 further comprising the steps of: sensing the results of said depositing the first material steps; detecting failures in said depositing the first material steps; and canceling said depositing the second material step if a failure is detected.
 86. The apparatus of claim 45 wherein said shutter indexing actuator operates in a dynamic oscillatory mode to perform mechanical chopping of the physical-vapor deposition process.
 87. The method according to claim 65 wherein said depositing the first material step further comprises depositing the first material with mechanical chopping through oscillation indexing modulation of a shutter.
 88. An apparatus for physical-vapor deposition of a multi-layer material structure onto a single substrate, the material structure having plural material layers deposited according to a predetermined sequence, each layer comprised of one of plural materials, the apparatus comprising: a single, contiguous vacuum chamber; plural targets disposed in the vacuum chamber, at least one target comprised of one of the plural materials; at least one power source associated with the plural targets for supporting physical-vapor deposition; a single substrate support chuck disposed in the vacuum chamber for supporting the single substrate; a mechanical indexing mechanism that moves the substrate relative to the plural targets and maintains the single substrate in substantial alignment with any one of the targets to deposit the multi-layer material structure of the plural materials according to the predetermined sequence; and an electromagnet coupled to the substrate support chuck, the electromagnet for formation of a magnetic field in the substrate plane, the electromagnet moving along with the substrate relative to the plural targets such that the electromagnet may support deposition of magnetic materials onto the substrate at any of the plural targets.
 89. The apparatus of claim 88, further comprising the vacuum chamber remaining contiguous during the deposition of each of the plural material layers onto the substrate.
 90. The apparatus of claim 88, further comprising an up/down actuation mechanism in conjunction with the substrate support chuck for adjusting the spacing between the targets and the substrate.
 91. The apparatus of claim 88, further comprising a shutter associated with the vacuum chamber, the shutter operational to block deposition when inserted between the substrate support chuck and a selected target, the shutter further operational to allow deposition when removed from between the substrate support chuck and the selected target.
 92. A method for physical-vapor deposition of a multi-layer material structure onto a single substrate, the structure having at least a first layer comprised of a first material and a second layer comprised of a second material, the method comprising the steps of: disposing a first stationary target in a single, contiguous vacuum chamber, the first target comprised of the first material; disposing a second stationary target in the vacuum chamber, the second target comprised of the second material; supporting the single substrate on a single substrate support chuck coupled to a mechanical indexing mechanism in the vacuum chamber; maintaining the single substrate support chuck in substantial alignment with the first stationary target with the mechanical indexing mechanism; depositing the first material from the first stationary target onto the single substrate by applying electrical power to the first target; using the mechanical indexing mechanism to move the substrate support chuck, along with an electromagnet coupled to the substrate support chuck, from the first stationary target to the second stationary target; maintaining the single substrate support chuck in substantial alignment with the second stationary target with the mechanical indexing mechanism; applying a magnetic field proximate to the single substrate with the electromagnet coupled to the substrate support chuck in substantial alignment with the second stationary target, and depositing the second material from the second stationary target onto the single substrate by applying electrical power to the second target.
 93. The method of claim 92, further comprising the vacuum chamber remaining contiguous during the deposition of each of the first and second material layers onto the substrate.
 94. The method of claim 92, further comprising the step of adjusting the spacing between the substrate and the first target with an up/down actuating mechanism coupled to the indexing mechanism and the single substrate support chuck.
 95. The method of claim 92, wherein said depositing the first material step further comprises: aligning the single substrate support chuck with the first stationary target; inserting a shutter between the first stationary target and the single substrate; initiating deposition of the first material onto the shutter by applying an electrical power to the first stationary target; removing the shutter to provide substrate-to-target view and to allow deposition of the first material to the single substrate; and inserting the shutter between the first stationary target and the single substrate to block deposition of the first material onto the single substrate. 